


The Curse of the Nightmare Galleon

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 08:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18807232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "Nicholas St. North is the fearsome King of the Pirates, who runs his ship (The Guardian) with great care. But, his pirate crew has a secret; every year on Christmas he takes the treasure he’s collected, and uses it to help out the towns he passes, with clothing, food and toys for the children.His first mate, E. A. Bunnymund thinks that North is silly, but he also uses his cut to buy food for children at the spring equinox, so he’s not one to talk.Meanwhile navigator/ship’s doctor Sandy just keeps being quietly awesome, making sure that North’s crew (nicknamed the Yetis) stay happy, healthy, and providing running commentary (though he can’t speak) on North’s actions. He’s the one that meets with the ship’s mysterious land-bound benefactor, Manchester Moon, a spymaster and gentleman.Also on board is Toothiana, an orphan that the crew of the Santoff Clausen picked up once, who’s grown up to be a fighter/pirate in her own right...[cut for length]"North and his crew have been instructed by Mr. Moon to seek out the Nightmare Galleon, with the help of Jack Frost. But how do you prepare to find a ghost ship?





	The Curse of the Nightmare Galleon

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 9/14/2015.

“Look,” Bunny said, keeping his voice low in the cabin so that the yetis wouldn’t realize there was anything worthwhile to eavesdrop on, “I read more than one book in my life before going to sea, and even if you’re going to rail me about that like you always do, I’ve got to say it: legends of the Nightmare Galleon have been around since the dark ages. It’s not a real ship, and Pitch Black isn’t a real captain. If Moon’s telling us to take Jack Frost into our crew to go hunt for him, he’s gone completely barmy.”  
  
 _He said it was the only way to settle a long-standing feud between them,_  Sandy scribbled on a piece of paper.  
  
“Then there’s no ‘if’ about him being off his rocker,” Bunny insisted. “How’d he get in a feud with a ghost?”  
  
“Bunny,” North said, half-placatingly, half-threateningly. “You forget that you are in the presence of someone who has seen the Nightmare Galleon,  _and_  her captain.”  
  
Bunny rubbed his face in his hands.  
  
“It was the strangest night of my life,” North began. “The air was clear as crystal, and the stars brighter than diamonds. The sea itself was like a mirror of mercury, and so still, so unnaturally still. It was what had woken me, that stillness. It was not only that there was no wind, but there was neither any movement upon the sea. I feared the ship had somehow run aground, though there should have been no land for leagues. When I found that it had not—ah, that chilled me even more! For where in the seven seas of Earth has water ever behaved in such a manner? I was just about to seek out the man who should have been on watch—I knew I should not be the only one waking, and yet I was!—I was just about to seek him out, when, nearer than it should have been able to approach with such silence, a vast, black ship, with black sails, drifted past like a lost opportunity. Perfectly poised between the stars reflected on the still water and the stars in the sky, it was, as if it sailed through space! Full sail draped it like a shroud, seeking for wind that wasn’t there, but also was not needed! I gaped at it like a fool, like a dead fish, but the only one who saw me make such a face was the man standing near the bow, tall and thin as death, in his long black coat and his wide black hat, and all the gold upon these shining St. Elmo-like. I did not see his face, but I did see the weapon that hung at his side, unsheathed: a curve of steel polished brighter than the moon, in the shape of no mortal weapon, but the narrow half-circle curve of the waning moon itself!”  
  
“Black paint and black sails are not hard to come by,” Bunny interrupted, not caring about the denouement. “Sandy, help me out here.”  
  
Sandy smiled.  _But I like that story. Anyway, I owe Moon. If he wants us to chase a ghost with some kid, then that’s what I’m going to do._  
  
“You don’t owe him one hundred percent,” Bunny said. “If you did, you’d still be singing shanties.”  
  
Sandy froze and raised his eyebrows high for a moment, then relaxed and shrugged.  
  
Bunny coughed, embarrassed. “Anyway, if we’re chasing a ghost ship, how are we going to make ends meet? We could recommend some of the yetis to other crews, but we’re otherwise going to be pretty broke.”  
  
“They say that the holds of the Nightmare Galleon contains all the riches that have ever appeared in the minds of dreamers!” North said. “As soon as we find it, I alone will be able to provide for an entire fleet!”  
  
Bunny pulled on his earlobe, stretching it even more than heavy earrings already had. “Right, but are we going to be hunting this ghost ship where we can get money that actually makes a noise when you drop it on the table?”  
  
 _For a while,_  Sandy wrote.  _But Moon thinks we might need to head towards Antarctica eventually. That’s partially why we’re supposed to collect Jack. He survived there alone for three months, he knows what to look for._  
  
“Eventually? It’s already March!” Bunny swore richly. “If something’s in Antarctica that’s worth going there at this time of year, it’s not a ghost ship. It’s something else, and Moon’s lying about it to us, and this Jack Frost is part of it.”  
  
“I have a gut feeling that it is really the Nightmare Galleon, though,” North insisted. “But, you are right, Antarctica is dangerous. Perhaps we should ask Moon to supply us for this whole task—whatever big prize is here is something that should make it worthwhile for him to do so. If he refuses, so do we.”  
  
Sandy frowned and wrote quickly on his paper. As he was doing so, the door of the cabin swung open and Tooth rushed in, her dozens of necklaces of stolen gold and ivory teeth swinging and clacking wildly about her. “Is it true?” she asked. “Is Jack Frost really joining our crew? Is he as handsome as they say? I heard he can whistle up the wind, that he’s never been becalmed! Is he going to help us with something special?”  
  
“The door is still open,” Bunny said dryly.  
  
Tooth folded her arms and made no move to close it. “North, you said I was your right-hand girl. I’ve got a quicker mind and better memory than anyone here, and I should be invited. If I’m not in the inner circle, I’m going to be part of the outer circle, and I’m still going to know everything. And for the sake of loyalty to the outer circle, I’ll tell them everything, too.”  
  
North sighed deeply. “I remember when that was not a threat, just how you were. Can you really keep a secret, now?”  
  
“I am MUCH older now,” Tooth insisted. “And if I haven’t proved myself, what do all these teeth mean, anyway?”  
  
After a further very brief discussion, Tooth sat at the table between Sandy and Bunny. In the pause that followed, Sandy thumped the table with his fist to get their attention. He held up what he had been writing when Tooth interrupted.  _We aren’t Moon’s only crew. We need to think about that if we refuse. We know more than Moon would have risked telling people he thought might say no._  
  
“Well…” North said. “I would hate to back down from a challenge. And with such a good lead, how could we not find something in the ice?” He nodded to Bunny. “Even if it is not, strictly, a ghost.”  
  
“If this goes wrong, we’ll be supplying the ghosts in the story,” Bunny said, but he made no more protests.

**Author's Note:**

> Tags from Tumblr:
> 
> #so Sandy had his tongue cut out as punishment for *something* 
> 
> Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> sylphidine said: A pirate AU… I love it! I’m going to queue this to repost on 19 September, which is Talk Like A Pirate Day. Avast!


End file.
